The Initiation

Ino is by average, no normal kid, and anyone who knows him will quite happily tell you so. His abnormality is known by those who were his friends, those who live near him, and anyone else whom have ever come into contact with him, for even one glance over and you can just simply see from his appearance, he doesn't fall into the "normal" category. Since a young boy, he has managed to keep a close group of friends, all of whom live on the same block of flats as him which was situated in an outskirt area of London. In comparison to his friends, he was often the outgoing one, whom always came up with the ideas that more often than not got them into trouble. As time went on, his friends started to drift away as their parents saw him as a danger to their children but their attempts at alienating him failed miserably. Ino wasn't abnormal because he got people into trouble, he was abnormal because of his family. For generations since as long as he could remember, Ino's family had seemed to be religious for they carried crosses around their chests, wrists and quite a number of them decorated the walls and various shelves around their flat. What outsiders didn't know, was the fact the crosses were something more than just a stupid religion, and meant even more to them than a cross would to the holiest of people. Ino still yet wasn't quite sure what it meant, for he had yet to be told until his twentieth birthday, but he did know he was different to anyone outside their family, and they knew the same. The reason his family were seen as strange, was not only the crosses, but mainly because of their behavior. All of the adults went out at midnight, every night in black cloaks that covered their entire figure and faces. Why they did this, was a mystery to anyone who spotted them and even Ino was none the wiser as to why they did it, but each night he would attempt to follow them with his friends, only to be found shortly later, hiding in various locations and told to go home.

When they returned in the early hours of the morning, they would be overly tired, as though they had been running for miles, but they grinned to each other as they parted ways, creating only more questions in his mind. He had always believed it to be part of the "gift" his family have, for since young children each member has been able to see spirits of the dearly departed, which at first is quite a shock and even more of a fright, but once you get used to it, he found it to be rather fun after having a few conversations with particularly chatty souls. On the day before Ino's twentieth birthday, things only became even more strange than they already were. His parents dodged around him, while mouthing words to each other, hoping he couldn't hear anything they spoke of, but Ino wasn't stupid, he had been able to lip read their conversations for quite some time. Despite this, their conversations made very little sense, as they spoke about him not yet showing "any signs of fruition." Pushing the thoughts of them out of his mind, he went upstairs in his red stripy pajamas and started to get ready for school, as he was already running late. Pulling clothes out of his drawers left, right and center he almost face planted as he attempted to pull on his socks while standing on one leg, but ten minutes later, he stood fully dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a black low-neck shirt, with his favorite red hoodie over the top, with the zip undone to show the black cross draped around his neck from a very long piece of string that wound around several times, overlapping at random. After a quick dash into the bathroom to brush his teeth and to make an attempt at patting and brushing down his particularly random white hair, he picked up his bag, said goodbye to everyone and dived out the door.

Looking round, he saw two of his friends a short distance away, waving to him as they started walking in his direction, but the moment the fresh air struck him, he started to feel dizzy as the world spun before him his black cross around his neck glowing like a flickering light, drawing the eyes of everyone around him as the blackness became to bright to see properly. Before he blacked out, Ino felt someone grab his back pack from behind, and drag him through the front door of his flat, but as his legs struggled to hold his body weight, he simply flumped onto the welcome mat, with an audible doof!

Ino had barely any time to comprehend what had happened, one minute he was on his way to school, the next, his necklace was glowing and he was being dragged backwards. Now, he found himself laying flat in the entrance hall to their flat, the door shut after it was slammed just a few seconds before, with his Mother giving him a curious look as she stood over him, as though she was wondering what would happen next. The truth was, no one could answer that question except for Ino, as he tried to grasp which way was up in his mind, while the world spun around him until consciousness left him entirely. When he came back around, he felt a light breeze brush across his face, wavering the wispy ends of his brilliant white hair. Below his feet, for he understood he was in a standing position, he felt as though he stood on a tough floor, potentially wooden if not tiling of some form. All of this information came to him before he had even opened his eyes, and when he opened them, surprise couldn't have struck him harder. Pitch black surrounded him, in every direction his head could turn, even the ground he stood on was black like the other areas of his surrounding and he guessed that behind him resembled the same as what was situated before him.

Despite being in the dark, the breeze still brushed across him from the right, though what was causing it made him more and more confused the longer he thought about it.

"Ino Miyuraki, I've been waiting a long time to have you here, longer than my friend whom guides your Father, though the guide of your Mother is someone I'm no particular fan of. I understand you will have many questions to ask me such as; who I am, where you are, why you're here and in short, why all of this is happening to you. Some of those I can ask, the others, your family will answer, but for now, we will begin with the basics. This is a place those of your ability, and of similar ability call their "Inner World," this place is your own for it is inside your mind, and only those you give access to may enter here. At the moment, it's black, as though someone threw a bucket of black paint over a canvas, while the breeze was of your own doing, but don't ask me how or why."

The voice paused for some time, giving Ino his chance to drink in all the information he had just been told. The voice he understood to be female, but no older than himself for it still had the girly ring through it that leaves as a female reaches womanhood. The owner of said voice, was able to move freely, for as he stood, it portrayed from various areas around him and her voice came in various volumes, suggesting she not only moved around him, but also, moved both close to him, and further into the darkness. Though she had not said much about where he was yet, he got the feeling this was her home. He couldn't exactly explain how he knew this, but he just knew, and simply put it down to one of those mysteries of life.

"You see Ino, I've been here for the entirety of your life, walking around this darkness waiting for you to bloom into your power, which of all days, has happened today. Today, I won't overload you with information, I will just show you what your mind is capable of. This darkness that you see around you, is here because you have, until now, been unable to access this part of your brain, but now you're here, that can finally be changed. What you do with this vast space, is entirely your decision, for this place will become your home away from home, your sanctuary, your place to come when alone and so on. Pick a landscape you would love to visit, be it vast forests, mountains or a huge city, you decide."

The voice ebbed away into the darkness once again, and he had to admit, she sounded ridiculous, but the only way to find out was to put her words into practice for himself. Scratching his chin, he found himself to be wearing the same outfit he had passed out in, which only brought forth more questions, though he dismissed them for the time being.

Spoiler:

"Wow, a huge tree I guess I could say that was a surprise."

The girl's voice trailed off in a giggle, but Ino had already learned the knack of selective hearing and simply chose to ignore her insignificant comment. Moving forward, he found walking to be just like he would normally, his feet moving fluidly, one after the other and a smile played across his face as he slowly broke into a jog, while the breeze slowly picked up, bringing on it the sound of the leaves on the huge tree seemingly rushing in one direction as the wind tugged them this way and that, though despite the breeze, he found it to be quite hot especially as he was situated under a clear sky, the sun glowing directly above.

"Well, it seems this shall do and I must admit, you have done a rather good job on it. Next however, you need to give me a form as like everything here, I am a part of your mind while my voice is part of your memory."

Amnoria (For future reference):

Spoiler:

Ino stood there, looking up at the gigantic tree for some time, lost in thought as he pondered over the various forms the girl's voice could take. Almost absentmindedly he began walking towards it, finding the closer he walked the more he had to look up to gaze at its full beauty. Of course, he wasn't stupid and understood fully the capabilities of the place he was in. Unlike your average tree, which was made up purely of bark and had little ways of reaching the top, he had created it so he could access every inch. Inside was like stepping into a wooden palace, a circular stairway entwining upwards throughout the entire central section of the tree. Though it wasn't just a stairway to the top, for the trunk hid five floors, each one suitable should he wish to stay there such as a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge area. At the top of the spiral staircase was a platform which spanned the entire width of the trunk and from this platform, every branch could be accessed with little difficulty.

"Well? Have you come to a decision for we can't move forward until this is done.."

Snapping out of his thought trail, he looked around at the view from the top-most platform of the tree, and started thinking once again on what form she should take. Of course, this was no simple task, for it had to be a form that allowed her to walk freely around the tree and surrounding areas, while also, being a form that gives her easier access to reach the higher levels of the tree in a matter of seconds. After a little more thinking, he smiled at the form that took place in his mind, for it seemed strange to put the two together and yet it seemed rather fitting giving the circumstances. Slowly, he pictured the form before him, and after a spiral of white specks stood a white wolf with wings. He guessed it took a few minutes for the girl to adjust, for she tilted her head round her body a few times while ruffling her wings, though he heard a slight giggle and so guessed she liked it.